NEW YORK--Hotels dislike talking about it, but theft and other crimes do happen on their premises, The New York Times reported in its Feb. 2 edition. Just how much is impossible to pinpoint because hotels do not disclose numbers, and government statistics do not record crimes by property type.

While hotels try to educate guests on protecting themselves -- putting safety tips on the back of doors, in room brochures and sometimes on the plastic room key cards -- new surroundings often lull guests into a false sense of security, the newspaper reported.

But hotel safety has substantially improved in the past decade, Thomas Davis, a security consultant for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, told the publication. This is because hotels not only keep tabs on who enters a hotel room but also more thoroughly check employee backgrounds, remind guests to take precautions and consistently train staff members.

Hotels stepped up their efforts, he said, because of civil lawsuits by victims or their families. Now, he said, many hotels lock meeting rooms, staff plainclothes security officers and use security cameras and automatic room deadbolts.

Joe McInerney, chief executive of the hotel and lodging association, said there was "a minuscule amount of hotel crime when you consider that about 3 million people stay in hotels each night, and maybe there are five instances a night."

Mark Sanna, vice president for global security at Hyatt Hotels, said his company's hotels and others were beginning to adopt one answer to the theft of laptops, their biggest theft problem.

"We are retrofitting many rooms with safes that have an electrical outlet," Sanna said. "And the safes are big enough that you can leave your laptop and cell phone inside charging instead of leaving it out on the desk."

But, he added: "We can't prevent everything. It's a shared responsibility, and simple things like using the room safe can prevent a lot of problems."